Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-03-10

m. ~ "'' 4n"'he Legislature of 1887.
10 me private investor whose plans aro 80
oenned that he knows for certaintv tho. -
can invest permanently for specific torn 80
years without being forced nv INV
stances to convert his investment in,o q. ~
curing that period and whose only desire !. -
procure high rate of interest on no,foo.,'.
saie securely, his object can be at,a;rod g
ne will make personal invas,;o..;a
western farm mortgages. Vi
II he will visit the State of Kansas b. IN
una improved farms without foot of -
laho within the vision of the eve, of unsur-
passed natural fertility, growing wonderful
efops Oh golden grain He will perhans 40 :.
certain that the owner of the farm can,a f,on,
."e East Two years ago with sufficient monou
W pay LOT 100 acres Of unbroken prairia lon
a' 'hree dollars per acre and a small ha,.roa
ieit 10 pay for the pair of horses and farm;na
utensils, seed, &c., necessary for nptt;nn IS
ms flrst crop. He finds him living in a sad
mouse He will also learn that the leo Co.,
having been broken is now worth ten doIlars
per acre. He finds this farmer wants to MI
cage MS land and obtain every dollar he can
ma lender willing to let him have on the
security he can offer.
az '"i iher teiis MIN That he wants to build
a frame mouse to make his family more com
.o''apie' ne wants to buy more land. for
migration is pouring into the State at the ratio
Vi ioo'ooo per year and the land is rising in
value every month. He wants to cnltivate
more land and must have money IN hrn r,ora
land to cultivate; it doubles in ysIne with
cuitlvating the first crop and he can well af-
Iord TO pay ten or twelve per cent interest
TOT every dollar he can obtain. The
purposes for which the borrower desires
TO loan are reasonable and legitimate and his
improved land is good security for proper
amount. The farmer asks for S3OOO-but
hnally accepts Sl000-and the lender has a
Ten per cent. investment with ample mortgage
security. be has made good, safe, profita.
BILE investment and is satisfied.
Ii corporation should be organized under
the laws of this State, with paid up capital
OF sufficient amount to establish its credit
upon firm basis, with its home office in
MAINE and one or more of its stockholders
employed in the west making loans upon
property which he examined in person. its
success would be measured only by the sound
judgment OF its western manager. The
guaranteed mortgages of such corporation
would be 4 safe and profitable investment for
the people of this State.
productive land may be as safe an investnIe nj
in Kansas as in Maine, but unless the eastern
investor makes the long journey and investi-
| gates for himself, he must accept the infor-
mati1n derived from western agents some, of
whom are thoroughly responsible and many
OF whom have comparatively no responsible
tv, and in buying unfortunately he will be
| made the rictm of Misrepresentation and
| loaded down with mortgages of over valued
real estate. The responsible agent will pro
tect his reputation, his future business and his
eastern clients by offering nothing but careful.
y selected mortgages amply secured by pro-
perty conservatively appraised, while the I'M
| scrupulous agent whose commission or profit
depends upon the number of dollars loaned
is likely to assist the farmer to as much
money AS ex,ravagant misrepresentation of
the value OF the farm will procure
The difficulty which meets the money lender
is not the lack of abundant opportunities
to make safe loans on mortgages in the west
it is that the business has to be transacted a,
arms length second hand information
The greater tendency of emigration to settle
in one locality gives its real estate an in
creasing value in excess of another. The
| freight tariff from one point may give farmers
great advantage in marketing their crops
over those less favorabiy located These are
only suggestions of the hundred conditions
tending to make farm property valuable OF
| otherwise. In other words there is valuable
and valueless property in the west in the
east and the same discriminating Judgment
based upon actual knowledge, must be
exercised there here if losses are to be
avoided. No conservative business mar
would entertain tor moment a proposition
to loan money on farm in Maine which he
had never seen, on the representation of ar
agent whose interest in the lender ceased
when he he had pocketed the commission
| for negotiating the loan.
| Another troublesome feature connected
with western mortgages is that person must
acquire thorough knowledge of the local
laws which vary in the different States before
he can loan money inteligenty. For in
stance in Colorado the default of one in
terest payment allows the mortgagee to seize
the property at once and advertise it for sale
while in Nebraska year must elapse after
default and considerable expense be incurred
| before the property can be taken under a
trust deed.
| have thus far discussed the subject from
the stand point of a private investor handling
his own funds, willing to incur reasonable
risk in consideration of large profits, and il
NAV be said that his success or failure through
| western IaTU lOhus, ueptHuS ShsAOAy
upon the honesty, fidelity and talent of the
agent whom he employs to negotiate his loans
with the western farmers.
But managers of savings banks are not in
vestment boards created for money making
purposes. The money they invest is not thei'
own and they have no moral right (and it i:
to be hoped that they will be given no lega
authority to incur risks which private
citizen, or a commercial bank may choose te
take in order to obtain large profits. The
object of savings banks should never be to
pay large dividends, but to afford an oppor
tunity to people of small means to combine
their savings in order that they may be sc
| invested as to earn some interest and be
available always, when the emergencies OF
life necessitate it's use. Their purposes are
clearly defined by the statute Of this State,
which provides that every dollar deposited IN
the savings banks may be Withdrawn aftel
sixty days notice.
What could be more inconsistent than tt
allow savings banks to invest in farm mort
| yages of distant States. available only al
maturity. five or ten years after date. VIVA
greater injustice could be done than to take
the hard earned savings of the people o
Maine under pretence that yeu will return
il to them on sixty days call. and then turf
II over to the farmers of Nebraska for lei
Hinder the savings bank law of this state i
Fla a duty of the Examiner TO appraise TN